Liver Cancer News and Research

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Liver cancer is more common in older people. Over half of people newly diagnosed with liver cancer are age 65 and over. Liver cancer is more common in men than in women. Liver cancer rates are highest among Asians and Pacific Islanders, most likely because of higher prevalence of viral Hepatitis infection. Liver cancer rates are lower among whites than Blacks or Asians and Pacific Islanders. At this time, we do not know exactly what causes cancer of the liver. There are several different types of liver cancer. The most common type is associated with long-term excessive alcoholic beverage use, scarring of the liver (cirrhosis), and Hepatitis B virus or Hepatitis C virus infection. Long-term use of anabolic steroids can also increase the risk of getting liver cancer. Smoking is also believed to increase the risk of getting liver cancer.

Combining sorafenib with carboplatin/paclitaxel adds no benefit in lung cancer

A clinical trial evaluating the benefit of adding the drug sorafenib to the combination of carboplatin/paclitaxel chemotherapy for lung cancer patients has been stopped based on results from an interim analysis, after an independent data monitoring committee concluded that the study would not meet its primary endpoint of improved overall survival.

26 Apr 2008

Hepatitis C therapy peginterferon alfa-2b shows promise

The hepatitis C therapy peginterferon alfa-2b, when given as low-dose maintenance therapy, can prevent disease progression in certain patients who failed previous interferon-based hepatitis C therapies and have advanced liver disease, according to findings from a large, four-year study presented today at the 43rd annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL).

24 Apr 2008

BioAlliance Pharma announces preliminary results from U.S. phase III trial for Loramyc

BioAlliance Pharma SA today announced the preliminary positive results for its US pivotal Phase III clinical trial with Loramyc (miconazole Lauriad), Mucoadhesive Buccal Tablets (MBT) developed for the treatment of OroPharyngeal Candidiasis in immunocompromised population. This trial was conducted to support an NDA filing to market the product in the US.

21 Apr 2008

Raptor Pharmaceuticals initiates phase IIa clinical study for Convivia

Raptor Pharmaceuticals Corp. has announced that its clinical development subsidiary, Bennu Pharmaceuticals Inc. , has initiated the Company's first clinical-stage program after dosing the first cohort in a Phase IIa study of oral 4-methylpyrazole ("4-MP") in subjects with ALDH2 deficiency, or ethanol intolerance, as the initial development stage of its Convivia program.

21 Apr 2008

Combining liver cancer treatments doubles survival rates

By combining the use of stents and photodynamic therapy, also called SpyGlass, physicians at the University of Virginia have been able to significantly increase survival rates for patients suffering from advanced cholangiocarcinoma, cancer of the liver bile duct.

16 Apr 2008

Treatment with sunitinib slows tumor growth and spread of liver cancer

Treatment with sunitinib slows tumor growth and reduces the risk of metastasis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, an aggressive cancer of the liver, researchers report.

15 Apr 2008

Targeted therapy combo overcomes treatment resistance in liver cancer

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Abramson Cancer Center reported at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research that combining two targeted therapies overcomes treatment resistance in liver cancer cell lines.

13 Apr 2008

Targeted therapies overcome treatment resistance in liver cancer cell lines

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Abramson Cancer Center reported today at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research that combining two targeted therapies overcomes treatment resistance in liver cancer cell lines.

13 Apr 2008

Multipolar radiofrequency ablation for liver cancer proves effective

Use of multipolar radiofrequency ablation in the treatment of colorectal liver metastases is effective and has a relatively low recurrence rate, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at Charité, Campus Benjamin Franklin in Berlin, Germany.

13 Apr 2008

Protein sulfatase 2 a possible treatment target for liver cancer recurrence and survival

Deadly and difficult to treat, liver cancer has long resisted attempts by researchers to develop ways to prolong life and prevent recurrence.

11 Apr 2008

Hepatitis B virus triggers cell 'suicide' in patients with chronic infection

Scientists from UCL (University College London) have identified a key difference between people who can fight the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) off successfully and those who fail to do so - that a group of cells important in controlling the disease are triggered to 'commit suicide' in patients who are chronically infected.

9 Apr 2008

Combination therapy improves survival time for patients with more advanced liver cancer

Combining a type of chemotherapy with radiothermal therapy resulted in longer survival time for patients with advanced liver cancer, compared to receiving the therapies alone, according to a study in the April 9 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

9 Apr 2008

Middle-age women alerted to link between alcohol and breast cancer

A new study by the Department of Health in the UK, yet to be published, has linked drinking alcohol to breast cancer.

25 Mar 2008

Big increase in hepatitis C-related deaths in the United States

Hepatitis C-related deaths in the United States increased by 123 percent from 1995 through 2004, the most recent year for which data are available. Mortality rates peaked in 2002, then declined slightly overall, while continuing to rise among people 55 to 64 years old.

25 Mar 2008

Researchers study new drug and indications for heated chemotherapy treatment

Studies have shown that surgery combined with Intraperitoneal Hyperthermic Chemotherapy (IPHC) can improve survival rates for select patients with peritoneal carcinoma (cancer of the lining of the abdominal cavity) that has spread from colorectal or appendix cancer.

17 Mar 2008

Good news for people with glycogen storage disease type Ia

A gene therapy treatment that restores a missing liver enzyme in test animals could provide a cure for a rare metabolic disorder in humans, according to Duke University Medical Center researchers.

13 Mar 2008

Combined therapeutic approach of stenting and photodynamic therapy improves survival in late stage liver cancer patients

A combined therapeutic approach of stenting and photodynamic therapy may improve survival rates for patients suffering from advanced liver bile duct cancer, according to a study published this month in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology , the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.

12 Mar 2008